Media releases

RHD has been eliminated in most developed nations, but sub-Saharan Africa studies show at least 2-3% of school-age children suffer from this often fatal disease[1]

Collaboration between Novartis physicians, Zambian healthcare providers, cardiologists from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Pan-African Cardiology Society will promote RHD prevention by treating children with streptococcal infections and silent RHD

The collaboration will screen 3,000 Zambian children by echocardiography and provide monthly penicillin injections to children with silent RHD to prevent recurrent strep throat and associated cardiac damage

Basel, Switzerland/Cambridge, MA, February 28, 2013 - Novartis today announced that it has launched an effort to eliminate rheumatic heart disease in Zambia in collaboration with the Lusaka University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the Ministry of Health in Zambia, the Pan-African Cardiology Society and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

RHD is a complication of untreated streptococcal infections in which the valves of the heart are scarred and eventually degenerate, leading to heart failure. Eliminated by antibiotic treatment in most developed nations, in the developing world an estimated 15 million children suffer from this debilitating and often fatal disease[1].

"The toll of heart failure in young children with RHD in Zambia is immense, for the patient, their families, and the nation," said Mark C. Fishman, Cardiologist and President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). "It is entirely preventable. For the past several years Novartis has been working with colleagues in Lusaka to help understand and treat asthma in young children. We are expanding the collaboration to raise awareness, educate, and provide antibiotic therapy to prevent RHD."

To measure RHD prevalence and identify those in need of secondary prophylaxis, teams of health care professionals from Lusaka UTH, the MGH, and Novartis will use portable echocardiography machines to evaluate 3,000 children, ages 9-10, in Lusaka-area public schools. Echocardiography screening is estimated to detect more than 10 times as many cases as clinical screening[1].

Images from the echocardiography screens will be analyzed in Zambia and at the MGH using a cloud-based electronic registry developed by Dimagi Inc, a Cambridge, MA-based company that designs open-source electronic healthcare systems for low resource environments.

Children identified as having RHD will be treated with monthly penicillin injections (termed "secondary prophylaxis") to prevent recurrent streptococcal infections and additional valve damage.Primary prevention, the treatment of children with streptococcal infection to prevent RHD, is key to elimination of the disease. To this end, all children diagnosed with strep throat will be treated with injectable penicillin in the community-based study sites. Prevalence of RHD and adherence to secondary prophylaxis will be determined via the mobile electronic registry.

"We have assembled an experienced team from MGH who are excited to bring the mobile heart imaging technology to Zambia," stated Michael H. Picard, MD, Director of Echocardiography at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a Past President of the American Society of Echocardiography. "We are creating a model for country-wide screening through schools that will not only raise awareness of the magnitude of this disease but also offer a simple method to identify those who will benefit from a very simple and safe treatment. The MGH Cardiology Division and its Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory are delighted to be a partner in this initiative."

The Pan-African Cardiology Society will assist with the development of the study protocol and ethics approval. Based on the experience of the initial Lusaka-based effort, Novartis plans to support the rollout of the RHD training and treatment effort to Provinces across Zambia, with the ultimate goal of eliminating RHD in Zambia.

"Rheumatic heart disease is the most common acquired heart ailment in Zambian children, but statistics are spotty and the disease is certainly diagnosed late when damage to the heart valves has already reached advanced stage," said John Musuku, Principal Investigator and UTH pediatrician. "Our hope is that the collaboration with Novartis will lay the foundation to detect the disease early so preventative measures are instituted. This is an effort to eradicate the disease across Zambia in our life time."

DisclaimerThe foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "aims," "eliminate," "will," "plans," "hope," "eradicate," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new business opportunities. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that any such business opportunities will develop in the manner, scale or time frame anticipated. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures, and unexpected reimbursement decisions; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About NovartisThe Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) is the global pharmaceutical research organization for Novartis. NIBR's research network is comprised of more than 6,000 scientists, physicians and business professionals working together across more than ten locations to discover innovative medicines to treat diseases with high unmet medical need.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, NIBR is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2012, the Group achieved net sales of USD 56.7 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.3 billion (USD 9.1 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 128,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

The information in the press releases on these pages was factually accurate on the date of publication. These press releases remain on Novartis website for historical purposes only. Novartis assumes no duty to update the information to reflect subsequent developments. Readers should not rely upon the information in these pages as current or accurate after their publication dates.